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A Dark Night for Drug Use |
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on July 22, 2008 at 6:55 AM
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Wednesday night, I went to the premiere of Dark Knight at Navy Pier’s IMAX theatre. Yes, it was surreal to see Sir Michael Caine, Bill Kurtis and Christopher Nolan in person—but it was a bittersweet experience. I will give you one guess why…….if you are thinking because the movie’s main star—Heath Ledger—is deceased, you are on the right track. Needless to say, the experience was downright eerie for me because it touched on a tragedy that my heart is still sore over in my personal life—the death of my eldest brother on Thanksgiving Day 2004.
But what do Heath and my deceased brother have in common? A substance abuse problem is the answer and their circumstances. My brother was also found in his apartment, on the bathroom floor, alone and dead (Heath similarly). While my brother had battled his chemical dependency for ten years, it was not the drugs that directly killed ...
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War Scars: The Bryan Anderson Story |
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Posted
on July 11, 2008 at 7:33 PM
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As of July 10, 2008, there were a total of 4,430 coalition deaths in the war in Iraq. According to documents released by the Pentagon, 30,349 U.S. troops have been wounded in action. More than 700 troops have found a home at Walter Reed’s Ward 57—the place amputees go to recover after limb-loss. Keep in mind, this number would be higher if toes and fingers were counted. Bryan Anderson, a Rolling Meadows native, is 1 of 4 triple amputee Iraq veterans who is now learning how to live life with the help of prosthetics.
“I saw his legs were gone and his hand was missing and all the blood under the radio mount, and I said, ‘Oh my God.’”
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Rebuilding Bryan |
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on July 02, 2008 at 4:47 AM
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Imagine having both of your legs, half of your left arm and half of a finger on your right arm amputated. Plus, compound that with shrapnel still being stuck in your body that every so often must be removed surgically. Now imagine living this fate starting at age 25 and keeping a smile on your face while doing it. Think it would be hard to do? Think again. Army Sgt. Bryan Anderson wakes up to this reality everyday since that fateful October 2005 day when an IED left him a triple amputee. But, don't pity Bryan, not only is he walking again, he is making a splash in Tinseltown. After his "can-do" attitude caught the eye of writers at the LA Times, the editors at Esquire magazine took notice. That's how he landed on the January 2007 cover, a coveted spot that has drawn A-list celebrities like Johnny Depp and Scarlet Johansson.
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Plight of the Poor |
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on June 20, 2008 at 10:05 AM
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Dear Fellow Illinoisans,
Did you know that…………………
Of the 12 million people in the state of Illinois, 1,562,900 people are living in poverty.
One in four people in Illinois lives near poverty, enough Illinoisans to fill the states of Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota combined.
Thirty-one Illinois counties had an increase in the rate of poverty from 2002-2003 and these rates keep increasing.
Though one of the wealthiest states in the Midwest, Illinois has had the highest poverty rate every year since 2002.
Illinois continues to have the highest child poverty rate in the Midwestand has since 2000.
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Chicago's Olympic Bid Still Alive |
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on June 06, 2008 at 9:30 AM
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On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Chicago as one of the five possible host cities for the 2016 Olympic Games. But, following the announcement of the short list, critics began cutting down the legitimacy of Chicago’s inclusion in that list because the IOC has always named a U.S.city on all previous host possibility lists. While Mayor Daley acknowledged that adjustments need to be made to public transit and that Chicago is up against iconic international cities, he rejected any slighting by critics. Since Chicago cannot be romanticized due to its lack of international status, there are still good reasons why the IOC should pick Chicago over Tokyo,Madrid, Daho and Rio de Janeiro. To help the IOC along, here is a short list of obscure reasons why Chicago should host the Olympics: 1)Deep Dish Pizza... | |